More than 202 million people throughout the world currently use smart watches. There’s a lot more you can do with a Fitbit or Apple Watch than just text, listen to music, and keep track of your activity levels. Ivanhoe suggests that the capabilities of your smart watch may exceed your expectations.
Whether it’s moving too quickly or too slowly…
If your heart isn’t beating in time, you could be in danger.
“Patients that develop atrial fibrillation can have pretty severe consequences, specifically as it relates to stroke,” says Matthew McKillop, MD, Electrophysiologist at Baptist Health in Jacksonville.
One of the newest weapons in the war against a-fib, however, may already be in your possession: your smart watch.
In his explanation, Doctor McKillop states, “Patients now have the ability of recording arrhythmias in real time.”
Apple watches were able to detect a-fib in 84% of participants in a study of 400,000 people conducted at Stanford. Additionally, a smart watch is useful for post-operative patient monitoring by doctors.
Orthopedic surgeon and institute founder Dr. Jeffrey DeClaire of the Michigan Knee Institute describes the device as one “which will track step counts, stride length, heart rate, and a variety of other data points that we don’t normally track as a surgeon.”
Patients can get in the go information with smart watches
Participating in an Apple Watch research provides Dr. Jeffrey DeClaire with daily, real-time data on his patients before and after knee replacements.
According to Denise Erhart, “they send you educational information and exercises to do, and they track how you’re doing with the exercises a month before surgery.”
Sydnie Stephens-Boussard and other diabetics can now track their blood sugar levels without having to repeatedly stick themselves with a needle.
So, when I’m flying too high, my watch will ping,” Stephens-Boussard adds. And it’ll chime if I drop to an unsafe level.”
Wearable gadgets may also be able to detect other diseases, such as the common cold, the flu, and possibly Lyme disease, according to other studies.
Dr. McKillop says, “This is actually something that is in my own practice directly impacting care.”
Most smart watches now have fall detection technology that automatically dials 911 if the wearer experiences a fall, making them a popular choice for keeping tabs on aging relatives. Doctor McKillop thinks more work needs to be done to ensure the privacy and security of patients’ medical records now that the technology is being deployed.
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